Camp Junction City, Iraq – Finally the never ending month of January is over, put away the Christmas decorations and start to salvage whatever you can of already broken New Year's resolutions. These last two months have been extremely painful on families, but we are on the downhill slide. I'm sure your soldiers have been complaining about their strenuous patrol schedules, but all of them contributed tremendously to the success of the Iraqi Elections.

The elections, although not perfect were never intended or designed to go flawlessly. This is the first true democratic elections held in Iraq before some fifty years ago. If you actually thought they would go off without a hitch then you probably you work at the Pentagon, just kidding. All Iraqis were provided with the opportunity to cast their ballots electing a 275 seat Congress. These individuals will soon begin to draft the working constitution that will provide the basic fundamentals and workings of the new government. They will appoint deputies to the country and the nation of Iraq will elect a President possibly as early as the end of this year.

Depending upon which article or CNN episode you were able to view, we had an absolutely incredible voter turnout throughout the country. The elections were run by the Iraqi people and secured by a majority of Iraqi forces. The violence will not stop, but the terrorists and those who support it have been dealt a serious blow. The main hub for these criminals appears to remain within the Sunni Triangle where we will provide them with every opportunity for their final stand.

Congratulations go out for a few new promotions within our brotherhood, SGT Aiello 2nd Platoon Squad Leader, SSG Glenn 1st Platoon Section Leader, SSG Davidson 3rd Platoon Section Leader, SFC Fears 2nd Platoon PSG, 1LT(P) Tice 1ST Platoon Leader, 1LT(P) Arola 3rd Platoon Leader, and 1LT(P) Register Company XO.

The month of February promises to be one of the best months here in Iraq for a few reasons. First, it's the shortest month in our year so it has to go by faster. And second, the elections are over for us and we should not have to see anything like it again during our time here. I wish you all of the best for this short month and know that your spouses still love you even though you may not get a card for Valentines or flowers. Therefore, don't forget to discuss limitations or restrictions on any self purchased Valentines Day gifts. God Bless you all.

CPT Jason Sabat
Company Commander